So you want to go to college but you don't have any ideas for a major...well then, I've got a story for you.

Once upon a time there was a high schooler who needed to make a lot of big decisions & that freaked her out big time. Making life-altering choices such as choosing a college felt daunting when she had no idea what direction (literally or figuratively) she wanted to go in life. She felt like the unknown was far too close for comfort, & it overwhelmed the planner in her. While her doctor-aspiring friends were applying to colleges with the best pre-med programs & her future-architect-friends found schools suited to their needs, she felt as though she had nothing to go on at all in the college decision-making process. However, by the grace of God & the advice of a few people, she ended up at a school that she loves &, after some time, studying a subject she also loves.

You must be dying to know who the protagonist is in the story. Well, it just so happens to be a bit of a personal story. Yet, it also just may be your story. Maybe you identify with the feeling of uncertainty when you think about your future. Maybe you don't know whether you want to be a lawyer or a journalist—or an English professor or a marine biologist. Maybe the ending of your story hasn't been written yet & you've still got to decide where you'll spend the next four years of your life.

I'm here to give you some advice on how to find your happy ending in the college search. So then here are some tips to help you navigate the decision-making when you're headed to school "undecided!"

Consider the PeopleProbably the best "college-choosing" pieces of advice I ever received was from my Dad. He reminded me to not discount the importance of people in my decision. When I considered picking a college, for a long time I tried to just think about logistics & completely leave out the fact people mean the world to me. I had friends here at MC but, for some strange reason, I believed that the effect they had on my decision would be negative. That was the furthest from the truth.

In reality, choosing a college where I knew some upperclassmen & had a few good friends was exactly what I needed. If you feel drawn to a place because of the people there, that can be an important factor. Obviously, you should think twice about simply following your friends to college, but if you have any number of other reasons to pick a school alongside loving the people there, that's certainly a good enough reason.

Consider the DistanceThough you can't consider the specific teachers, classes or quality of a program at a college, you can take several other things into consideration. First, you can think about how far away from your home you'd like to be. Do you want to be able to visit on weekends & will you have to fly or drive? Do you want to be able to bring friends home for dinner?

Most out-of-state public schools have out-of-state tuition, so that's another something to consider when you think about the distance. With private schools though, Mississippi College in particular, you don't have to worry about that.

Consider the SizeYou can also think about the population of the student body at a college. Do you want to be a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in a big pond? Are you used to a smaller teacher to student ratio or do you like being one of hundreds of students in a room? Also consider the size of the campus. Do you want to know the name of every academic building or would you like to be able to constantly explore new parts of campus?

While you're thinking about these sorts of things, you can ask yourself with what sorts of organizations you could see yourself becoming involved. Even if you don't have a major picked yet, you still know what you like to do for fun. Mississippi College offers a variety of intramural sports, honor societies, social tribes & clubs, & leadership opportunities. If it's important to you to participate in an activity, it is perfectly reasonable to make a college decision based off of that.

Consider the SurroundingsYou can also make a college choice based on what's around the college. Some people prefer a rural area while others like urban areas. Do you want to spend four years living the small town life, a suburb life, or a city kind of life? There are colleges of all sorts in all three of those categories as well as everywhere in between.

Final ThoughtsWhen you prayerfully take all of this into consideration, hopefully it will make your college choice easier. The most vital piece of advice I can give you though is to simply ask God to lead you where you can best serve Him. When you don't have a specific plan for your life, you can rest in the knowledge that God does. He won't calling you to be a doctor & send you to a college without a biology department; He will not set you up for failure. That is a life-giving mindset that takes off all the pressure of the big choice that is the college decision.